Abdominal belt



United States Patent 1 2,995,134 ABDOMINAL BELT Wendolyn F. Gakle, R0. Box 905, Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Aug. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 756,168 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-545) This invention relates to abdominal belts, and more specifically to a sectional belt, which is sold in sections, which sections are first detachably secured together, then worn and adjusted over a period of time prior to permanently securing them together for everyday use.

One of the prime objects of the invention is to design a belt formed of a plurality of non-elastic loose sections which are packaged and sold as a unit, and which are loosely and detachably secured together by the wearer to permit necessary adjustments, as it is first worn, so that the sections can then be permanently secured, thus providing a tailored to the individual abdominal belt which can be worn with complete freedom of body movement and comfort to the wearer.

Another object is to provide a sectional abdominal belt which can be worn by both men and women; which will restrict protruding of the abdomen, and which is provided with attachable pads for support of hernias or other small protuberances.

A further object is to provide a very simple, practical and inexpensive sectional abdominal belt which closely fits and supports the body of the wearer which will not slip out of position, which relieves standing fatigue and back strain, which is inconspicuous on the wearer, easy to put on and take off and in which all metal springs, etc., are eliminated.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a face elevational view of the belt, with the various sections in end to end position.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the belt sections permanently connected, and the straps secured together.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the hernia pads.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the sections permanently secured together.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, top plan view illustrating how the free ends of the belt abut one another.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my in vention, the belt proper is made up of a plurality of individual sections 5, 6 and 7 respectively; these sections being formed of canvas or any other desired semi-stiff material, and a strap 8 is secured to one end of the section 7 by sewing as at 9. A Y-shaped strap 10 is secured to the companion section 6 by sewing the sections at 11 to the upper and lower edge respectively of the band, and a buckle 12 is provided on the free end of the strap as usual or any other suitable fastening means may be used. stiffener stays 14 can be provided in the center section 5 as shown to prevent excessive wrinkling and hold the material straight.

The belt is purchased as a packaged unit and in practice the owner first pins or otherwise secures the ends of the sections 6 and 7 to the ends of the section 5 by means of a conventional safety pin (not shown) or the like, after which the belt is placed about the wearers body, these sections being adjusted daily, if found necessary by the wearer, as it is worn until the belt feels entirely com- Patented Aug. 8, 1961 fortable and supports the wearers body to the satisfaction of the owner, after which the sections are permanently secured together by sewing.

It will, of course, be recognized that the hernia pad H can be spotted over the hernia where it is held due to snugness of the belt and Worn until the wearer is certain the position is correct, after which the pad may be permanently sewed in place. With such arrangement, the wide portion 16 of the belt section 5 is always in correct position, i.e., the greatest belt area is positioned over the wearers abdomen, and the pad can be located where desired.

The belt when worn is form fitting and inconspicuous, it supports and holds the abdomen and further provides protection against new hernias, while supporting any hernia already contracted by the wearer. There is no slippage out of position, there are no leg straps nor are they needed, and perfect freedom of legs and body is afforded. To put the belt on, it is only necessary to place the center section 5 over the abdomen, with the straps 6 and 7 encircling the wearers body, and when the straps are pulled taut, the ends XX of the sections 6 and 7 will be in tight abutting end to end relation.

It is obvious that with the ends XX abutting, the belt will always be the same diameter and will always confine the abdomen with the same pressure regardless of how light or hard the wearer pulls when putting it on, effectively guarding against the belt being too tight with the accompanying discomfort to the wearer. To further enhance pressure at the points of the hernia pads, the straps 8 and 10 are held directly over the pad with loops 13, positioned to fit the conditions.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that I have perfected a very simple, practical, and economical tailored to fit, abdominal belt which can be easily put on or removed; which serves to secure hernia pads in correct position; which can be readily washed and which is equally adaptable and comfortable for both men and women.

What I claim is:

An abdominal belt adapted to encircle completely the abdominal portion of a person, said belt comprising a plurality of individual, relatively wide strips of non-elastic, semi-stiff material; means securing said strips one to another in end to end relation to form a band having free terminal ends, said band being of such length as to conform to the abdominal girth of said person so as to encircle his abdominal region with the terminal ends of said band abutting one another; a pair of non-elastic straps; means securing one end of one of said straps to one terminal end of said band; means securing one end of the other strap to the other terminal end of said hand, one of said straps having an opening therein adjacent its said one end and of such size as freely to accommodate the other strap, each of said straps being of such length as to extend from the associated end of said band about the abdominal region of said person a distance sufficient to permit the other ends of said straps to meet one another; and means on said other ends of said straps for detachably securing said straps to one another for removably maintaining said band in encircling relation about the abdominal portion of said person with said terminal ends of said band in abutting engagement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 344,065 Teufel June 22, 1886 763,683 Magoris June 28, 1904 1,572,826 Virgin Feb. 9, 1926 1,604,076 Risselt Oct. 19, 1926 2,605,762 Balistrieri Aug. 5, 1952 2,765,470 Read Oct. 9, 1956 

